Halbert White, a mellow, trumpet-playing UC San Diego economist whose research was considered to be so influential he was short-listed for the 2011 Nobel Prize in economics, died Saturday at a hospice in La Mesa after a four-year battle with cancer, campus officials said. He was 61.

In September, Thomson Reuters caused a stir in La Jolla when it said that Mr. White and his collaborator, Jerry Hausman of MIT, were prime contenders for the 2011 Nobel Prize in economics for their work in econometrics. The field uses an assortment of mathematical tools and statistics to test a hypothesis based on real-world data.

Mr. White became especially well-known for the “White standard,” a test or way of thinking that greatly reduced the chance that an economist would make a mistake in designing a study or writing a paper.

Textbook writers found it hard to explain the White standard in lay terms. Mr. White found it easy, telling UT-San Diego last fall:

“Economists apply mathematical models to real-world data to make predictions and to try to understand economic cause and effect. For example, a prediction answers the question, ‘What will the unemployment rate be next month if things continue the way they have been?’ Understanding cause-and-effect makes it possible to answer a question like, ‘What would happen to the unemployment rate if the Fed raises interest rates?’ ”

Mr. White was both amused and thrilled when he learned that Thomson Reuters had listed him as a favorite for the Nobel. “Although it’s an honor and very gratifying to be considered as a Nobel contender, I’m not making any reservations for Stockholm just yet,” he said. “I have to admit it’s an exciting thing to contemplate.”

In a statement, UC San Diego Chancellor Mary Anne Fox said, “Hal’s 30-plus years of service to this campus helped propel our economics department to the top-ranked powerhouse it is today. Even as the entire UC San Diego community mourns the passing of a remarkable researcher and teacher, we know his legacy of contributions to his field, and the world more broadly, will live on.”

Mr. White, who was born in Kansas City, Mo., spent most of his life at some of the most prestigious universities in the country, including Princeton, where he earned a bachelor’s in economics. He earned his doctorate at MIT, and ended up grading the papers of two people who would go on to become famous: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, who writes for The New York Times. He later joined the faculty at UC San Diego, where he worked with Robert Engle and Clive Granger, who shared the 2003 Nobel in economics.